Yup that's what i was thinking. I have a 180 tstat in mine and that's about where my needle sits. When I had the stock 195 it was just a little bit below the 210 line. It's not like the factory temp gauges will win any awards for accuracy, but my bet is that the previous owner put a 180 degree thermostat in there.

 

I'll toss in that it's a 50/50. Stock tstat and as said I read the same on the gauge. Note that not all TEMP Sensor's read the same. As an example, I've had to return one to the store as it read ~10 degrees high. This was known b/c upon startup of a cold engine the temp gauge shot up that amount.

 

That is a stock 195 stat. The 180 runs lower on the guage by another one or two needle widths. These trucks don't run "cool." They run exactly at 195 whereas vehicles made in the last 10 years run at 200-220. I can't believe how "hot" my parents' Tahoe runs. But they have knock sensors too.

 

Not mine.